A message for the stars: future time clauses with when, as soon as and until

Q: What are future time clauses?

A future time clause says when a future action happens , and it starts with when , as soon as , before , after or until : When the message arrives, we won't be here. Its verb is in the present simple, while the other clause has will , going to or an imperative. The B1 lesson A message for the stars on edio.ai teaches them with the Arecibo message of 1974.

Q: What is the rule for future time clauses?

The rule is the present simple after the time word and will , going to or an imperative in the other clause: As soon as we land, I'll call you. Before he sends the message, he'll add a drum. With he , she and it , the verb takes -s. A time clause that comes first takes a comma; one that comes second doesn't: I'll call you when I get home.

Q: What are some examples of future time clauses?

These come from A message for the stars , a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Nobody will see anything until they find the right rows. As soon as they see a cat, they'll love us! When we finish it, I'll post it on our website. Call me as soon as you get to the studio. The last one is an instruction , so its main clause is an imperative instead of will .

Q: What's the difference between "When will it arrive?" and "when it arrives"?

When will…? is a question about a time , so will belongs there: When will the message arrive? When it arrives is a time clause, part of a longer sentence, and its verb stays in the present simple: When the message arrives, we won't be here. A tip in the scheme of A message for the stars , a B1 lesson on edio.ai, sets the two side by side.

Q: Is it "when I will arrive" or "when I arrive"?

It's when I arrive , with no will after the time word , even though the action is in the future. The same goes for the other time words: until they decode it , not until they will decode it ; As soon as I get home , not As soon as I'll get home . Keep will for the main clause: I'll call you when I arrive.

Q: What was the Arecibo message?

The Arecibo message was a short radio message sent on November 16, 1974, from the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico toward the star cluster M13, more than 20,000 light-years away. It was a string of 1,679 ones and zeros. Arranged in 73 rows of 23, they make a picture of numbers, atoms, DNA, a human figure, the solar system and the telescope itself.

Q: Will anyone answer the Arecibo message?

Nobody knows. The message needs more than 20,000 years to reach M13 , and NASA says that even if someone received it, an answer would take almost 50,000 years. Cornell University, which managed the observatory in 1974, says anyone near M13 with a radio telescope like Arecibo's could detect the message when it arrives. NASA calls it mostly ceremonial: it was sent at a ceremony for the telescope's upgrade.

Q: How do I teach future time clauses to B1 students?

Start from the first conditional students already know : If it rains, we'll stay home has the same shape as When the rain stops, we'll go out . Then swap in as soon as , before , after and until . A message for the stars on edio.ai builds the rule from a studio dialogue, and its speaking chapter has students present a message of their own.

Q: What's a good game for practicing future time clauses?

Open the box and finish the sentence : boxes hold starts such as When our message arrives, … , As soon as someone decodes our message, … and Nobody will understand our message until … , and the student who opens one ends it aloud, with the present simple after the time word. Another box asks for the whole two-minute presentation.

Q: What's good homework for future time clauses?

Good homework pairs short drills with a text students can reuse : gaps that choose the present simple or will , a won't … until table, and a template for a two-minute presentation with words to drag in. In A message for the stars on edio.ai, all ten homework tasks check themselves, the last being the show's post for Norman, a listener from Puerto Rico.

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches future time clauses with when, as soon as and until through the Arecibo message, a picture sent from Puerto Rico toward the stars in 1974.

Grammar: The present simple after when, before, until and other time words, with will, going to or an imperative in the main clause: When the message arrives, we won't be here.
Topic: The Arecibo message and its 1,679 ones and zeros, radio telescopes and Voyager's Golden Records, with words such as light-year, star cluster and grid.
Activities: Episode notes to read, a studio dialogue and a listener's idea to hear, four self-checking drills and a picture message to plan and present.

What's inside

Chapter 1Warm-up: Is anybody out there?
- PictureUnlock
- Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
- Study the words: messages and spaceVocabularyTry it
- Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock
Chapter 2Read: 1,679 ones and zeros
- Look at the picture: the ceremony at AreciboPictureUnlock
- Read the episode notes: a message for the starsArticleUnlock
- Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 3Listen: Beep-boop-beep!
- Listen to Riley and DariusListeningTry it
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
- Listen to the Listener's Take: Norman from Puerto RicoListeningUnlock
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
Chapter 4Grammar: When it arrives, we won't be here
- Study the scheme: when, as soon as, before, after, untilGrammar schemeTry it
- Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: present simple or willFill in the gapsTry it
- Fill in the table: as soon as … willFill in the tableUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
Chapter 5Your turn: a message from Earth
- Choose the right replies: Riley's messageChatTry it
- Sort the ideas for a message: people, nature or things we makeSort into columnsUnlock
- Put the words in the correct order: Riley and Darius's presentationUnjumbleUnlock
- Open a box and present your messageOpen the boxUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
- Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: words and cluesMemory gameUnlock
- Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: present simple or willFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Fill in the table: won't … untilFill in the tableUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: a presentation templateDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the correct option: the show's post for NormanChoose the optionUnlock

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

radio telescope
light-year
star cluster
galaxy
grid
stick figure
solar system
loudspeaker
DNA

Grammar: future time clauses

A future time clause says when something will happen: When the message arrives, we won't be here. Its verb is in the present simple, though the meaning is future. With the 1974 Arecibo message and Riley and Darius's own message for the stars, learners pair the present simple with will, choose the time word and place the comma.

When the message arrives, we won't be here.

After when, as soon as, before, after and until, use the present simple for the future. The other part has will, going to or an imperative.

Present simple in the time clause

The time clause keeps the present simple, with -s for he, she and it: Before he sends the message, he'll add a drum. The future form belongs in the other clause: When it arrives at M13, it won't stop.

Who	Time clause: present simple	Main clause: will / won't
I	When I finish the grid,	I'll send it to you.
you	As soon as you land,	you'll text me.
he	Before he sends the message,	he'll add a drum.
she	After she arranges the bits,	she'll see the picture.
it	When it arrives at M13,	it won't stop.
we	Until we receive an answer,	we'll keep listening.
they	As soon as they detect the signal,	they'll know we're here.

Five time words

When means at that time, as soon as right at that moment with no wait, before earlier and after later. Until means up to that time, and then it stops: Nobody will answer until they decode it.

Word	Meaning	Example
when	at that time	When the message arrives, we won't be here.
as soon as	right at that moment, with no wait	As soon as we land, I'll call you.
before	earlier than that	Before you send it, check the grid.
after	later than that	After it passes M13, it will keep traveling.
until	up to that time, and then it stops	Nobody will answer until they decode it.

Where the comma goes

A time clause at the start takes a comma: When I get home, I'll call you. At the end of the sentence, it doesn't need one: I'll call you when I get home. The meaning is the same both ways.

The comma

When the time clause comes first, put a comma after it: When I get home, I'll call you. When it comes second, you don't need a comma: I'll call you when I get home.

Will, going to or an imperative

The main clause shows what kind of future it is. A promise or a decision takes will: I'll call you when I arrive, not I call you. A plan takes going to, and an instruction takes an imperative: Call me as soon as you land.

The main clause: will, going to or an imperative

Use will for a promise or a decision: I'll call you when I arrive. (Not: I call you when I arrive.) Use going to for a plan: After we finish, we're going to post it. Use an imperative for an instruction: Call me as soon as you land.

When will…? is a question

When will the message arrive? is a question, so will is right there. Inside a time clause, there's no will: when the message arrives, not when the message will arrive; until they decode it, not until they will decode it.

A question is different

In a question, When will…? is right: When will the message arrive? But in a time clause, there's no will: When the message arrives, we won't be here.

Common mistakes

When the message will arrive, we won't be here.
When the message arrives, we won't be here.
no will after when
Nobody will answer until they will decode it.
Nobody will answer until they decode it.
no will after until
As soon as I'll get home, I'll call you.
As soon as I get home, I'll call you.
as soon as + present simple
I call you when I arrive.
I'll call you when I arrive.
a promise: will

In the studio

When our message arrives, we won't be here.
Nobody will see anything until they find the right rows.
As soon as they see a cat, they'll love us!
Before we send it, can I add a drum?
When we finish it, I'll post it on our website.
Call me as soon as you get to the studio.

More lessons on this grammar: Future tenses lessons and exercises

Try the future time clauses exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

What's in the lesson

18 auto-checked exercises
6 games
1 article
1 grammar scheme
1 set of word cards
2 audio clips
2 pictures
2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

use the present simple for the future after a time word: When the message arrives, we won't be here. Before he sends it, he'll add a drum.
finish the sentence with will, going to or an imperative: As soon as we land, I'll call you. Call me when you get there.
put a comma after a time clause that comes first, and none when it comes second: I'll call you when I get home.
plan and present a picture message for the stars: As soon as they see the drum, they'll know we love music.

Lesson 11 is the third lesson of Space and discovery, unit 3 of English B1.1 · Stories That Travel. A2.1 lesson 32 used when, before and after for the past, A2.2 lesson 15's first conditional already paired the present simple with will, and lesson 10 compared the future forms that now fill the main clause. Lesson 12 closes the unit with too and enough. A message that needs more than 20,000 years to arrive makes everyone ask what happens when it does.

Students spin a wheel of questions about stars and messages, then learn twelve words, from arrange and detect to loudspeaker and DNA, with pictures and audio. The episode notes on the Arecibo message come with true-or-false statements and a quiz. In the studio, Riley and Darius plan their own message while Darius beeps, and Norman, 25, from Puerto Rico, says what he'd send; both are AI-voiced. Four self-checking drills follow the scheme, among them an as soon as table for every person. The speaking chapter is a task: a chat about the hosts' seven pictures, a sort of message ideas, a model talk to put in order and open boxes for presenting.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a word gap-fill and a memory game, then a choice of forms, gaps for the present simple or will, word order, a won't … until table, a presentation template with words to drag in and the show's post for Norman with choices.

Grammar:: future time clauses · when / as soon as / before / after / until + present simple · will / going to
Topic:: the Arecibo message · Puerto Rico · radio telescopes · space · messages to the stars · Voyager Golden Record · presentations · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

Open with a message in a bottle: ask what will happen to a bottle thrown into the ocean today. Students answer with When someone finds it, … and Nobody will read it until …
Let students find the shape themselves: write 1,679 on the board and ask which two numbers multiply to make it. The reading then shows why 73 rows of 23 make a picture.
Move the clauses around: write a time clause and a main clause on two cards, let pairs swap their order, and ask where the comma goes each time.
Run the presentations like a small conference: after the model talk, groups choose seven pictures, then present for two minutes while the class asks What will they think when they see…?

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The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, each built around a true story. Riley, Jade and Darius make a podcast in Kansas City about true American stories, and each lesson tells one, from a seaplane airport in Alaska to the Marfa Lights of West Texas. Learners compare the present perfect with the past simple, use future forms, modals and quantifiers, and give their own opinions. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

Unit 1 Travel smart
the present perfect vs the past simple, for and since, indirect questions, be used to and get used to
Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs
will have to and won't be allowed to, the present perfect continuous, simple vs continuous, would vs used to
Unit 3 Space and discovery
it's + adjective + to, What's it like to…?, future forms compared, future time clauses, too and enough + to
1. Lesson 9What's it like to work in space?It's + adjective + to and What's it like to…?
2. Lesson 10Who will walk on the Moon next?Future forms compared by meaning
3. Lesson 11 · you're hereA message for the starsFuture time clauses
4. Lesson 12A helicopter on Mars?Too and enough + to-infinitive
Unit 4 Life online
the more…, the more…, be supposed to, ought to and had better, let, make and allow
Unit 5 Screen and page
-ed and -ing adjectives, gradable and extreme adjectives, present tenses for a plot, articles for things in general
Unit 6 Green living
few and a few, little and a little, all, most, some and none, each and every, fewer and less
Unit 7 Sporting moments
could, was able to and managed to, for, during and while, present tenses for live commentary, question tags
Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds
both… and, either… or and neither… nor, uncountable nouns, how sure we are about the future, unless, as long as and in case

Questions about this lesson

What are future time clauses?

A future time clause says when a future action happens, and it starts with when, as soon as, before, after or until: When the message arrives, we won't be here. Its verb is in the present simple, while the other clause has will, going to or an imperative. The B1 lesson A message for the stars on edio.ai teaches them with the Arecibo message of 1974.

What is the rule for future time clauses?

The rule is the present simple after the time word and will, going to or an imperative in the other clause: As soon as we land, I'll call you. Before he sends the message, he'll add a drum. With he, she and it, the verb takes -s. A time clause that comes first takes a comma; one that comes second doesn't: I'll call you when I get home.

What are some examples of future time clauses?

These come from A message for the stars, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Nobody will see anything until they find the right rows. As soon as they see a cat, they'll love us! When we finish it, I'll post it on our website. Call me as soon as you get to the studio. The last one is an instruction, so its main clause is an imperative instead of will.

What's the difference between "When will it arrive?" and "when it arrives"?

When will…? is a question about a time, so will belongs there: When will the message arrive? When it arrives is a time clause, part of a longer sentence, and its verb stays in the present simple: When the message arrives, we won't be here. A tip in the scheme of A message for the stars, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, sets the two side by side.

Is it "when I will arrive" or "when I arrive"?

It's when I arrive, with no will after the time word, even though the action is in the future. The same goes for the other time words: until they decode it, not until they will decode it; As soon as I get home, not As soon as I'll get home. Keep will for the main clause: I'll call you when I arrive.

What was the Arecibo message?

The Arecibo message was a short radio message sent on November 16, 1974, from the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico toward the star cluster M13, more than 20,000 light-years away. It was a string of 1,679 ones and zeros. Arranged in 73 rows of 23, they make a picture of numbers, atoms, DNA, a human figure, the solar system and the telescope itself.

Will anyone answer the Arecibo message?

Nobody knows. The message needs more than 20,000 years to reach M13, and NASA says that even if someone received it, an answer would take almost 50,000 years. Cornell University, which managed the observatory in 1974, says anyone near M13 with a radio telescope like Arecibo's could detect the message when it arrives. NASA calls it mostly ceremonial: it was sent at a ceremony for the telescope's upgrade.

How do I teach future time clauses to B1 students?

Start from the first conditional students already know: If it rains, we'll stay home has the same shape as When the rain stops, we'll go out. Then swap in as soon as, before, after and until. A message for the stars on edio.ai builds the rule from a studio dialogue, and its speaking chapter has students present a message of their own.

What's a good game for practicing future time clauses?

Open the box and finish the sentence: boxes hold starts such as When our message arrives, …, As soon as someone decodes our message, … and Nobody will understand our message until …, and the student who opens one ends it aloud, with the present simple after the time word. Another box asks for the whole two-minute presentation.

What's good homework for future time clauses?

Good homework pairs short drills with a text students can reuse: gaps that choose the present simple or will, a won't … until table, and a template for a two-minute presentation with words to drag in. In A message for the stars on edio.ai, all ten homework tasks check themselves, the last being the show's post for Norman, a listener from Puerto Rico.

How do you practice future time clauses one-to-one?

Talk through tomorrow, step by step: the teacher asks What will you do as soon as you get home? and What won't you do until you finish work?, and the student answers in full sentences, then asks back. The chat in A message for the stars, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, needs no partner: Riley asks about the student's own message, and each reply is chosen from three.

Are there interactive exercises for future time clauses?

Yes. Without an account, this page plays three parts of A message for the stars, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Riley and Darius planning their message in the studio, a gap-fill that chooses the present simple or will, and Riley's chat about the show's seven pictures. Each gap and reply is marked at once. An account unlocks the rest of the lesson.

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About this lesson

What's inside

Vocabulary

Grammar: future time clauses

Present simple in the time clause

Five time words

Where the comma goes

Will, going to or an imperative

When will…? is a question

Common mistakes

In the studio

Try the future time clauses exercises

What's in the lesson

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

Teaching tips

Teach the whole lesson in edio

Start a free trial

Open the lesson

Teach it live or as homework

The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

Unit 1 Travel smart

Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs

Unit 3 Space and discovery

Unit 4 Life online

Unit 5 Screen and page

Unit 6 Green living

Unit 7 Sporting moments

Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds

Questions about this lesson

Teach this lesson with your students